


Invisible Forces

by unforciablecure



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Nico’s White Shirt™, Post-Episode: s02e05 Rock Bottom, Smut, Top Karolina Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 18:44:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17229227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unforciablecure/pseuds/unforciablecure
Summary: Nico realized - somewhere between the creaking grand staircase and the dust strewn bedroom she shared with Karolina - that her girlfriend, who confidently led her by a tugged hand, appeared to have one thing solely on her mind.





	Invisible Forces

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this piece was inspired by [Invisible Forces by Klaxons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg86HErs64w)

Nico realized - somewhere between the creaking grand staircase and the dust strewn bedroom she shared with Karolina - that her girlfriend, who confidently led her by a tugged hand, appeared to have one thing solely on her mind.

It was by no coincidence that The Thing, Nico mused, was encouraged by a rare moment of post-evening aloneness and the eerie emptiness retained by the abandoned mansion; the two elements which fell upon them appeared to spark a deeper sense of excitement.

Karolina’s face shone with a toothy grin - fully on display the second that Alex, Chase, Gert, Molly and Old Lace had opted to evening scavenge - her eyes sparkling as she tightly grasped onto Nico’s hand. They crossed across the top landing at speed, Nico’s oversized white shirt and short black tie rippling in motion, unsettling dust and dated cobwebs.

Tiredness had been the most viable go-to excuse for avoiding the evening street scavenge and although it wasn’t necessarily a lie, conditions had been exaggerated to their advantage. The opportunity to spend the evening together had been too great, too unmissable, and had been cemented during a shared moment when Nico’s eyes shifted onto Karolina’s across the downstairs landing.

They were telling the others - unconvincingly - that they would be sitting out the evening scavenge due to an overwhelming sense of tiredness. Electricity had sparked and a knowing look exchanged, one which had been bold and bright enough to be intercepted by both Gert and Alex. Their friends reacted with contrasting expressions. Gert’s eyes had momentarily widened in a sort of shocked yet impressed expression. Alex, however, cleared his throat and proceeded to push his glasses up from the crook of his nose. He was evidently uncomfortable but his reaction only appeared to increase Karolina’s confident stance as she flimsily uttered how supposedly sorry they were for bailing (she wasn’t sorry at all).

Spending time alone together had grown rare now that they all lived under the same roof; in one big wooden and decaying house. The mansion was their mutual safety away from PRIDE and their parents, and was tied together just like their destinies were. They had to stay together in order to survive, to thrive on the streets - and now the dusty hills - of permanently sun-kissed Los Angeles.

Nico felt a familiar flutter of excitement spring throughout her step as they slipped into the bedroom. It felt strange that they both had their own space now, their own quarters to retreat to whenever they desired. The room was dusty, decaying and old yet the comfort it offered arrived at a pivotal moment when group morale had been low. The dingey four walls of the room offered protection and also self-reflection. It was equally Karolina’s as it was Nico’s, a shared space which - although dark - offered a standalone breather in a world that was quickly becoming increasingly more clouded.

Nico let herself be pulled across the floor by Karolina, the door to their room creaking as they moved passed. Karolina’s expression was curious, almost bashful, as she let go of Nico’s hand, leaning down to bridge the gap between them, bringing their lips together. They kissed softly and then hard, hands gravitating to grip necks and enhance closeness with touches grazing across clothing. Nico smiled as they kissed, immediately sensing Karolina’s hunger for more and her hands moved immediately to cup her girlfriend’s face. Kissing Karolina was always soft and always warm. Their lips touching and shared breath remained a guilt free cocktail of pleasure they were only too willing to sip.

As they swayed against one another in the middle of the room - a slow dance that wasn’t quite a slow dance - Nico found herself being led backwards. The floorboards creaked as they moved inch by inch, the room’s derelict aesthetic fading into the background. Karolina pushed closer, tangling their mouths together, an effective distraction technique Nico later learned for not only did Nico find her movement all but suspended, Karolina pressed her downwards into a chair; an old Rattan armchair that she had first taken a shine to upon an initial rummage around the top floor landing. Nico’s back met a few musty cushions, her continuing kisses with Karolina briefly pausing when Karolina stopped, pulling back, to smudge the remnants of black lipstick from her lips. A premature action, Nico reflected, because she guaranteed that more would replace it. Nico vowed to make it fact.

Nico watched as Karolina adjusted her dress, her eyes fluttering when Karolina asked if what they were doing was okay. She sat up, feeling the soft yet worn cushions press further into her back. Karolina gazed down at her, smiling as she tucked a loose wavy strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Nico exhaled, her breathing near suspended as her eyes absorbed the scene playing out before her. Karolina held her gaze expectantly with attraction glistening brightly in the pools of her eyes. Nico reacted by swallowing hard in an attempt to slow the insistent hammering of her heart.

“Way more than okay.” Nico confided, locating her voice. She sounded breathless as if she had just endured a long sprint down the streets of a sunny Santa Monica Boulevard on a Sunday afternoon but Karolina was no sidewalk. Her presence shimmered into the dark room - no glow present - and Nico hoped more than anything that the others would remain absent for the duration of the night. They may have had their own quarters but that didn’t necessarily guarantee privacy or isolation. Voices could carry.

Karolina’s smile only deepened and she reached out, fingertips ghosting across Nico’s cheeks as she teased a more meaningful touch. The room remained calm around them and still. It was sanctuary and Nico reached out, encouraging Karolina down and into her lap. The new development felt firm and reassuring and Nico centemented the shift in positioning by easing closer until no gap remained. “But this?” she whispered, attempting an effortless retort. “This... is even better.”

The armchair cushions complimented Karolina’s weight in her lap and Nico - more than drunk on the chemical reactions her body was currently weathering - kissed Karolina with fervor, their mouths merging roughly before emerging into a less chaotic sync. Kissing was mostly reserved for reassurance and for comfort during the events of recent days but as they continued to kiss, something was recognizably different. Like a shift in tempo in the midst of a song their continuing armchair kisses hinted at something else intensely thrilling and decidedly different. What exactly it was, however, Nico did not know.

Karolina’s arms were wrapped around Nico’s neck, offering up the impression that she was being touched all over, all at once, because in the quick diversion of soft lips from lips, Karolina’s touch drifted and draped. Her touch lingered on Nico’s neck before moving promptly to her sides, evoking a deep pleasurable moan that dared Karolina to awaken again and again. Nico struggled to find a moment to blush or to suffer embarrassment at how unjustly her body was betraying her because Karolina’s dual attack of kissing and touching rendered all other thoughts obsolete.

They could kiss for hours. Time appeared to fracture - melting away into nothingness a la snow meeting a sweeping sun - exaggerated because not only had they acquired an abandoned hostel - née mansion - they were teens. Sometimes with being runaways, permanently scarred by their parents actions and motivations, it was easy to forget.

Nico gave herself over to Karolina’s enticing and mesmerizing touch; a loud noise that demanded all of her attention as it silenced everything else and Nico found herself melting further into the the support being provided by the Rattan armchair. If PRIDE destroyed the city and its outskirts tomorrow, Nico retained a sharp recollection of the true happiness she currently felt.

Karolina was glowing - shades of bright pinks and purples - when Nico, dazed from kissing, opened her eyes. Karolina had drawn her lips away, moving her attention to press a loose, sticky trail of kisses down Nico’s neck. Rainbow colours shimmered in bright procession around the room, building a haze of connection that burned bright. Nico’s neck felt itchy now; a side effect not reaped from the onslaught of kissing - that evoked another reaction - but because Karolina’s hair, long and wavy, grazed ticklishly against her skin.

As Karolina moved, relenting her ascent on her neck, Nico’s eyes met a playful grin reflecting back upon her. She couldn’t smile any harder when she realized that Karolina, like before, held remnants of black lipstick against her lips, highlighted as her skin remained illuminated.

“You’re glowing.” Nico whispered in awe. It was becoming a thing-thing; glowing. Karolina’s grasp of her power was steadily increasing. An engulfing wave of proudness rippled through Nico.

“Yeah.” Karolina appeared bashful, grinning as her blush went unseen, blurred by the multiple sparkling layers of her power. She touched Nico’s face, playfully fluttering her eyelashes. “Sorry about that.”

Nico rested her hands on Karolina’s waist. Her breathing pattern had finally evened itself out but Karolina was not easing her seduction. “Don’t be sorry.” she said, tasting faint traces of Karolina on her lips. The vibrant pigments of colour reflected in Nico’s eyes. Karolina was a sparkling apparition. “I like it.” Nico shared, her words offering truth. “A lot.”

Karolina grinned, her glow slowly dimming as she kissed Nico chastely and short. Easing backwards, Nico immediately sensed hesitation. Karolina was on the cusp of uttering something she wanted to but for all of her bashfulness appeared to be holding back.

“ _Hey_ …” Nico touched Karolina’s side. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. I just, I…” Karolina’s voice trailed off and she shifted in Nico’s lap.

“Karolina?” Nico murmured softly, enticing Karolina’s gaze back to meet her own. “You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

Karolina nodded, aware of the fact. “It’s just, uh,” Karolina smiled as her eyes rested on Nico’s lips before moving rapidly back to her eyes. “I may have gotten a little carried away.” Karolina bit her bottom lip, confessing. “You know, just a little.”

“Oh, you mean this; dragging me into our room to straddle and make out with me?” Nico teased with a twitching eyebrow, watching as Karolina proceeded to chuckle. Nico shrugged her shoulders. There were no complaints. “How terrible.”

“ _No_.” Karolina answered amusedly. “It’s not… it’s not that. Although you’re not wrong.”

Nico narrowed her eyes, deducing. “You’ve got that look.” she said, after a moment. “Did you, like, steal my toothbrush or something? Although totally gross, I think I can live with it.” Nico paused before adding a doubtful “maybe.”

Karolina shook her head. Biting her lip again, she swallowed her amusement with a smile, chuckling softly.

“You… broke my cup?” Nico’s eyes widened with disappointment. “The glass one with the engravings? _Please_ tell me you did not break my cup.”

“ _What_? No, I did not break your cup.” Karolina laughed softly. There was genuine panic and worry lingering in Nico’s voice. “It’s nothing bad, Nico.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?”

“Because it’s…” Karolina struggled to find an effective descriptor before settling on a hastily and unconvincingly uttered “stupid.”

“It only is if you don’t tell me.” Nico bargained as she cupped Karolina’s face. There was a reassuring tenderness supplementing her touch. It reflected much support. “Which, for the record, I’m totally okay with.” Nico added quietly. “I just... feel like there’s something else chewing at your side that you wanted to tell me.”

“It’s… dumb.” Karolina stated, coyness entangling her voice. Nico’s expression clouded with curiosity as Karolina sat back. She remained patient, encouraging Karolina to open up with a soft smile. “I…” Karolina said, “I found something.”

“You… _found_ something?” Nico asked. A thought hit her blindingly between the eyes and her face fell. “You didn’t read my journal, did you? Because that stuff that I wrote about you the other night…” Karolina shook her head, confusion swimming into her expression and her eyes. “What I wrote about you was nothing bad.” Nico assured, her face flushing. Her shirt collar and tie felt suddenly overwhelming and tight. “Just, uh, private. _Extremely_ private and, like, personal, you know?” Nico cleared her throat. Way to make it awkward. Karolina was smiling though. Nico’s confession appeared to have dulled Karolina’s brief foray into embarrassment. “You wanna tell me what you found?”

Nico didn’t get an answer. She got an instruction and a playfully cast; “close your eyes.”

“ _Karolina_.”

“Are they closed?” Karolina grinned. Nico’s eyes, for the record, remained open.

“Close my- if this is anything weird and gooey, I-”

“It’s not, promise.” Karolina urged softly, humor present in her voice. “Go on. Close your eyes.”

“Also spiders.” Nico added. “Also anything that crawls actually.”

“ _Nico_.” Karolina uttered breathlessly before she moved from Nico’s waist.

“Why?” Nico asked jestingly as she closed her eyes. She amped-up the flirtation although she could never quite meet Karolina’s level. Nico smirked at the unintentional height joke. “What’s in it for me?”

“A… surprise?” Karolina’s voice sounded across the room. Nico fidgeted in the armchair, a sharp sense of anticipation building.

“You know I hate surprises.” Nico laughed to herself. She heard shuffling as Karolina moved closer.

“And I’m gonna change that.”

Nico decided to tease, playing along. “You know, you’re being _awfully_ suspicious of late.” There was some truth to her words; truth which kicked open a doorway that Nico was reluctant to step into because Karolina’s dynamic had undeniably changed over the last few days. Nico’s head crossed with loud thoughts polluting her mind, her insecurities disintegrating when Karolina touched her sides.

“I am?” Nico shivered with goosebumps as Karolina’s words whispered close, blowing gently against her face. It was hot and ticklish all at once. Somehow, through all of it, Nico refrained from opening her eyes. “Also,” Karolina added, remaining close, “you can, like, open your eyes now.” When Nico did, her eyelids fluttered open and all passing thoughts expired in her mind.

Karolina towered confidently over her, dangling a silvery object from her hands like a much-prized possession. Nico could only warm - her skin growing hot and stuffy as she shifted in the armchair - because Karolina was holding handcuffs; silvery, shiny handcuffs and gazing at her in a way that implied they were going to be used. Nico swallowed, the information near short circuiting her brain in one sparking power cut. The handcuffs were going to be used. Possibly and most likely on herself if Karolina’s look was anything to go by.

“Oh.” was Nico’s only expressive exclamation. How wrong had she been to assume that Karolina’s find was something gross like a gooey memento or a pet spider. As old and antique as the handcuffs were they were shiny on the eyes as Karolina’s face fizzled with a familiar flirtation.

“Found these in a drawer in the closet.” Karolina shared, unlatching one cuff. The sound cut throughout the room like a gunshot and Nico heard herself swallow. “And I thought…” Nico’s interest sparked as Karolina leaned in closer, dangerously closer. “We could have some fun.”

“Nice usage of ‘we’ there.” Nico quipped, inwardly, her throat dry.

Karolina’s laughter was soft and Nico realized that she was reacting to her fluster and stunted loss of words with artful tenderness and cheeky playfulness. “Did I say that?”

“Don’t be cute.” Nico smirked. She wasn’t completely gone, not yet. “You just wanna see me shackled, huh, restrained?”

“Hmm.” Karolina dramatically pondered the words in delay. It was very, very obvious what the answer to Nico’s question was. “I guess I do.”

“Kinky.” Nico exhale was half-laughter half-nervousness. “Slow down, _fifty shades_.”

“I just figured with the others gone, we could… have some fun. In our bedroom now that we’re alone.”

_Our_ bedroom. Nico’s eyelashes fluttered. She liked the statement, the sentiment, in every regard. Karolina rattled the handcuffs, seducing Nico almost completely by running a hand through her hair. It was the simplest action yet it rendered Nico in a daze.

“If you’d like to.”

Nico swallowed, overcome. The four words slayed her last glimmer of sobriety. “I’d like to. I’d... really like to.”

Karolina grinned, proceeding to encourage Nico to place her hands behind her back. As Nico followed through, her arms dangled around the back of the chair. The thought of not being able to touch Karolina was a shivering prospect as it evenly was a turn on. Karolina moved to the back of the chair, exhaling a suspenseful breath as she eased Nico’s left wrist into a cuff before proceeding to secure her right. She made sure they weren’t on too tightly.

“They don’t hurt, do they? Tell me if they do.” Karolina asked after a moment. Nico shifted awkwardly, tugging her wrists apart as she trialled the new addition. Her movement was restricted now that her hands were bound around the back of the chair. She was restricted but not overwhelmingly so, sexily so. The cuffs clinked together as Nico attempted to move her wrists.

“They’re a little sharp, on the wrists.” Nico said, rotating her wrists. “Kinda heavy, too.”

“I can take them off.” Karolina said, immediately.

“I know you can.” Nico murmured, biting her lip as Karolina moved around to the front of the armchair. “But I don’t want you to.” Nico smiled, honesty reflecting in her eyes. “Not yet at least.”

“This isn’t, like, weird or anything?” Karolina asked. “The last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable.”

“It isn’t weird.” Nico shivered as the coldness of the metal wrapped around her wrists. It was both jarring and jolting on the senses. “Although a _teensy_ bit uncomfortable.” Nico paused, exhaling. But wasn’t that the point though? To be nudged outside the realms of comfort. They were experimenting with bondage after all. Nico’s answer seemed to appease Karolina, something which - yet again - did not numb the rising feelings of want perpetuating throughout the air, not when Karolina proceeded to step into Nico’s lap.

Manoeuvring her left leg over Nico’s waist and then her right, Karolina hooked her arms around Nico’s neck. Nico stifled a moan at the immediate contact, briefly forgetting that her wrists were bound and locked into the cuffs behind her back. Karolina relished the sound of the metal clinking and the desperate look of disappointment Nico offered in turn.

“You can’t touch me, Nico.” Karolina assured, confidently smug. The realization buzzed like a current of electricity. Nico may have been unable to touch Karolina but that didn’t necessarily mean that she would refrain from trying.

“Uh.” Nico’s head lolled back over the chair, emitting a groan of frustration at the reminder, only exaggerated by the familiar feeling of Karolina’s current position; straddling her lap. “Now that… isn’t fair.”

“No, it isn’t.” Karolina murmured sympathetically, words tinged with humor, pressing her lips to Nico’s exposed neck. Nico’s back arched as Karolina proceeded to tease, gently attacking her skin and language was suddenly the last thing on her mind. Nico moaned during the softest and teasing of touches, Karolina cupping her neck, because the evening’s developments were dawning upon her like a steadily rising sunset. The cuffs around Nico’s wrists were cold and old, clinking as she shifted against the back of the chair. Her body was reacting to Karolina’s onslaught in a way that it never had before.

“I’m making you relax.” Karolina whispered in earnest during a brief interlude before her lips returned to Nico’s neck. She touched Nico’s face, craving all the contact she could collect. It was a viable reason and explanation given the current situation. If Nico knew Karolina - and she knew her well - Karolina was perceptive enough to realize that her shoulders were beginning to grow heavy with the title of group leader, a mantle which Nico had retained for less than a week, placed so willingly around her neck. Nico had stepped up knowing the responsibility it held.

“ _R-relax_?” Nico grasped hold of her voice, surprised by her sober strength as Karolina’s intent to truly drive her crazy continued, teeth now grazing her neck. Karolina knew how to tease. Relaxing was the last thing on Nico’s mind because she remained on edge, her body on fire.

Karolina murmured an affirmative, pressing a plump and soft kiss to Nico’s neck. Her lips grazed across soft skin, Karolina relishing the way in which Nico’s breath drew in and the pleasurable whimper that her actions evoked. The reaction was warm and tinged with surprise, adoration and unfiltered arousal. Karolina relented her attack, momentarily drawing her attention away. “Amongst other things.”

Nico’s eyes remained closed. “Other things?”

Karolina laughed softly, her voice muffled as she kissed Nico’s neck again. “Are you gonna repeat everything that I say?” As Karolina shifted in her lap, Nico quietened. The closeness crafted them was only continuing to grow. Karolina’s teasing exhale of a cold burst of breath tickled itchily against Nico’s neck. The teasing continued in words. “This could get interesting.”

Nico’s head lolled back. Somewhere between the fizzling flirtation and the near relentless and unfolding assault, she managed to retort a reasonably normal sounding quip. Nico’s eyes flickered open. “Define interesting.”

“Teasing you.” Karolina answered at once. “Having my way with you.” Her hands, circling across Nico’s shirt, stopped to roughly loosen Nico’s black tie and pop open a button. The white cotton material was soft and smooth. “Should I go on?” Karolina shrugged her shoulders, a familiar air of confidence emerging into the room. “I feel like I should go on.”

“We could, uh, really get goin’ if you let me out of these.” Nico urged, a handful of scenarios springing into her mind, none at all innocent. She was looking and sounding desperate. Karolina, however, had other plans.

“You’re no fun.”

Now, Nico thought, that was a lie. “Oh, it’d be fun.” Nico said as she gazed at Karolina, silently enticing the promise that her words held. _It would be more than fun_ , Nico’s eyes shone, _you know it would, Karolina._ The proposed offer, however, was extinguished by a simple kiss; Karolina’s lips entangling with her own. Nico should have been annoyed at being denied by a kiss if Karolina had not been devouring her lips. Nico wasn’t surprised to find the kisses were a smoke and mirrors type distraction because Karolina was in the process - the bold process - of tugging off her tie and casting the material to the floor as well as popping open her shirt buttons - one by one - a talented skill because Karolina was doing it blindly as they continued to kiss. Nico felt her shirt open, not a moment later, Karolina’s soft touch drifting to palm her waist and she felt more awake than ever, alive. Nico was extremely perceptive to two things; the thundering heart in her chest, that danced and reacted to Karolina’s touch, and the sheer and unrelenting want that clung to her own breathy utterance of Karolina’s name. The situation, of course, was not eased when Karolina rolled her hips - suddenly and unexpectedly - for not only did Nico shiver at the ripple of pleasure it evoked, she also moaned. The bliss was as overwhelming as the haze of splendour that continued to trickle throughout Nico’s veins. It was a type of high, she surmised, and one which was fast becoming lethal.

Nico whined as Karolina had broken the kiss, her attention and touch now fixated on exposed skin and the black bra on display underneath her white shirt. The thrill it worked upon was powerful as a spell cast over flickering candles in the darkness of night. This, however, Karolina in her lap, was a separate entity in a variation of ways.

Karolina bridged the gap between them again, their lips meeting firm and slow, as she pushed Nico’s shirt further apart. She wouldn’t be able to remove it completely thanks to the handcuffs adjoining Nico’s wrist and, Nico reflected, that added yet another layer of fervor to the unfolding situation. Yes she was bound, held in place by Karolina and the antique addition joining her wrists together, but she was also going to remain semi-clothed. Had Karolina planned this, Nico wondered, before deciding that without a doubt she had, for Karolina was permanently well rehearsed. Nico’s thoughts were halved - divided centrally in two - as Karolina rocked her hips. Now Nico really desired the power to touch. Attempting to tug her bound wrists apart, Nico was cruelly denied. On a normal occasion she would have cursed but her voice lay forgotten and weary somewhere at the farthest reaches of her throat.

A moment of clarity was gifted when Karolina - in the throws of her power, not her literal one - paused her movement, inching back as she tenderly stroked Nico’s face. They were both hot now, hotter than before, and breathing deeply.

“I need to confess something to you.” Karolina began, faintly tracing Nico’s collarbone with her fingers. She was lost in the moment, experiencing the same simultaneously engulfing haze filling the room. Nico could only offer a silent but intrigued expression, encouraging Karolina to continue. “The shirt, the one you’re wearing?” Karolina tilted her head, biting her bottom lip as she watched Nico progress along with each of her words. The white shirt Karolina was referring to lay open, creased and unbuttoned, her touch resting underneath the material. Karolina leaned in close, her breath brushing warmly against Nico’s cheek like she was uttering a much treasured secret. Karolina’s admission was a chaotic cocktail of seduction and tease. “It did something to me.” Nico watched as Karolina shut her eyes - briefly - a rare display of shyness surfacing during an onslaught of confidence. “Like… this is _so_ embarrassing.”

“No.” Nico said, speaking for the first time when Karolina’s eyes flickered open. She smiled but not before making a mental note to wear more white shirts. Normally that was a painful thing to say. Nico spoke quietly and sincerely. “It’s cute, actually.”

Karolina’s gaze reflected disbelief and she laughed. It was natural, the chemistry between them, a comfortable warmth that wrapped itself around them wholly and complete like a woolen blanket on a winter’s day. Nico could only exhale as Karolina shifted in her lap, her touch drifting around to the juncture just beneath her shoulder blades. Even through the haze Nico knew what the next development would be. Karolina’s hands dipped around her back and she felt a tug. Normally Nico would have surrendered her arms or even helped with the unlatching of her bra strap but her positioning prevented her from doing so. Karolina’s brief side step into an embarrassing admission had dissolved and now her expression fizzled with playful energy, retaining a devilish quality that Nico should not have been finding as hypnotic as she was.

“You know,” Nico murmured, her words sparking into light from a place she reserved close to her heart. There was a hint of distance enrapturing her voice. “I’m so glad you’re here, beside me. I don’t think I could do half of this stuff without you. Any of it.”

Karolina supplemented her admission with a tender touch. “Are you talking about now or…?”

Nico grinned in disbelief, shaking her head. She had walked into that line all on her own. Karolina could be delightfully smug when she desired but so could Nico. A retort formed steadily on the tip of her tongue, unuttered words shattering into tiny fragments as her bra strap pinged apart, executed effectively at the same time Karolina rolled her hips. The struggle reaped from attempting to form a coherent sentence unfolded as Karolina rolled her hips again, lips moving to drift down and across the valley of her chest. Karolina drew back, faintly, exhaling a low chuckle which exuded the same devilish quality as her expression. “...something else?”

When Nico hissed out a desperate and impatient pronouncement of Karolina’s name, Karolina only smirked. She gazed at Nico as if this was all a dream; her childhood crush sitting beneath her, wrists restrained behind her back and a strangled worked up expression spreading on her face. Dreams do come true, Nico pondered, for what had once remained locked inside the depths of Karolina’s thoughts was now unfolding in real time.

The intimacy growing between them remained a work in process and far from perfect but that didn’t necessarily mean that they couldn’t enjoy the time they were gifted alone with one another. Nico at this moment, however, could not settle on whether what she was experiencing was a form of enjoyment or if it swayed to the latter end of unadultured torture. She could feel Karolina, literally against her lap, and Karolina could touch and kiss her for as long or as short as she wished. Nico could feel, could want, but she could not move her hands to where they most desired, to Karolina and Karolina’s form. That, as previously stated, was unfair and as her skin reflected goosebumps with long waves of Karolina’s hair trickling across her chest, it was itchy too.

Karolina kissed across Nico’s partially covered chest, her movement retaining a steady momentum as it descended. Nico’s neck craned, her head lolling back into position as she continued to be weakened by the onslaught of seduction and enhanced by the anticipation of what was about to unfold. Karolina’s touches crossed all across her skin from Nico’s chest to her sides, her fingers exaggerating the delicately soft trail her lips were weaving in a downward spiral. Karolina was glowing, now, literally, her sparkly power creating an almost mystic like effect.

Nico’s only vocalization arrived in the form of hot gasps and whines for more and desires to be free. Her wrists panged with pain, a side effect of the metal cuffs grating against her skin because each time Nico pulled on the restraints she was coldly reminded that Karolina was in control. She may have been unable to touch but that didn’t necessarily mean that Nico couldn’t have her own type of fun. Her mind working fast, Nico derived a plan. She shifted, attempting to devise friction beneath her dark jeans, instantly regretting her decision to accessorize with a belt. Just like a straddling Karolina in her lap, Nico’s belt added another layer of complication. Karolina’s positioning and weight placed an immediate end to all of Nico’s prospects of easing the tension.

“You know if I didn’t know any better…” Karolina murmured and she sneaked her arms around Nico’s neck, her lips hovering close to her own. “I’d say you were enjoying this.” Nico only groaned, emitting her frustration in an incoherent sound which she hoped effectively conveyed her astonishment and her equal agreement. It definitely did because Karolina’s smile, bright and twinkling, embellished the light of her powers. Karolina’s gaze lingered on Nico’s lips as she traced a finger up and down her chest and sides. _Enjoy_ , Nico spluttered sarcastically with her eyes, _define enjoyment_. She was halfway towards enjoyment, situated at a holding stop - a near enough no man’s land - somewhere between pain and pleasure. Nico just had to get off. The imagery held two very obvious meanings.

Nico tilted her head, playful as Karolina drifted closer, her glowing arms looped firmly around her neck. Karolina bridged the gap between them once and then twice with short, heavy kisses before resuming where they had left off, trailing her fingers across and down Nico’s chest. Nico’s layered exhalations of breath echoed around the room, showcasing an obvious sign of frustration and impatience. Karolina’s smooth offensive appeared to be doubling down as was her movement.

Prying the gentle pull of their lips apart, Karolina’s hands moved towards the latch of Nico’s belt. The buckle, silvery black, was tugged and pried apart; jingling as Karolina’s steady fingers maneuvered to unlatch it. Nico’s desire and craving was shimmering as brightly as Karolina was. The leather material of Nico’s belt was inched aside relatively gracefully and Nico knew that Karolina retained a smug proudness for getting this far and deliberating. Nico’s impatience, however, persisted. It was overpowering, the temptation to somehow grasp the Staff of One and conjure up a command that would unlock the cuffs and free her wrists. Karolina gave in, though, because in the following moment, Nico felt a hand deep in her pants - one which snuck past her under shorts - with a steady focus and control. Karolina’s other hand scaled mesmerizingly up and down her side, hypnotizing Nico to relent her final grasp of control.

Nico’s arousal was present as Karolina dragged one finger up and down her centre before she repeated the action again. The touch was teasing and Nico’s strangled whimper was followed up by a groan and the metallic clinking of handcuffs. Nico became faintly aware of Karolina murmuring something absentmindedly, a playfully cast line about patience, but the sound of her girlfriend’s voice trailed off into the night like sober words arriving on drunk ears. Karolina unleashed a further onslaught, inching her fingers in deeper with ease, before spreading her fingers and Nico’s lips. Now that they were finally getting somewhere, Nico’s heart rate decidedly and excitedly began to leap.

Karolina’s caress was within now and drifting closer as a two finger touch began its exploration. Nico felt her breathing pattern hitch and she choked out a deep guttural exclamation of ‘yes’, her neck hanging weak and limp over the back of the chair. The build up had been too much, Karolina’s contact driving Nico to a point she wasn’t sure she could back away from. The flicker of release had heightened in the air, cutting across the wooden floor and the wallpaper peeling walls and was now a tantalizing flavour resting firmly on the edge of Nico’s tongue. Bliss would come - Nico denoted the double entendre through her daze - eventually.

Karolina moaned, pure and unfiltered stimulation, rolling her hips at the precise moment she curled her fingers up, flicking them apart as she rocked with pressure into and against Nico’s lap. Throwing unpredictability into the mix Karolina’s fingers began to twist, the deviation receiving a very receptive moan of appreciation as Nico slid deeper into the throes of pleasure. Karolina’s unpredictability, however, did not stop there. Ending the brief gap between them, she licked and kissed at Nico’s neck, pressing and stroking her fingers firmly against Nico’s core.

Nico was close, her body relenting and surrendering itself over to the bliss, to Karolina and to the pleasure. She gasped as Karolina kissed her neck like she was leaving a hickey - which she was - and whined out further utterances of half-formed thoughts she couldn’t fully concentrate on. Karolina pushed closer - impossibly close - and delved deeper, her actions winning out as Nico ceased up with a slowly travelling ecstasy and a pleasurable moan.

Nico crossed over into climax with Karolina’s lips pressed against her red, overly kissed neck, restrained wrists and arms all but dead as they remained in place behind her back. Karolina was quite literally glowing in her lap as she reaped the full effects of a freshly awoken orgasm. It lasted longer than she expected it to after enduring a seemingly endless run of teasing words and the other factors; neck kisses and lingering touches.

Time stilled. The room’s clock face, broken and situated on one of the dressers, appeared to have unwound not just within its inner mechanical workings but in the room itself. Minutes later - although it could have been longer - Nico stumbled upon a supply of strength, her chest heavy and her body tinged with a gentle covering of sweat. Karolina’s fingers slipped from within, evoking a swallowed gasp as the previously present pressure now grew absent, fading in conjunction with Karolina’s power. Inching up from her shorts and Nico’s pushed aside belt and buckle, Karolina’s caress deposited tiny droplets of wetness as it drifted closer towards Nico’s navel. Turned on, Nico could only close her eyes. She felt alive, the heat snaking in and around her body providing a new lease of life and a clearer, sharper consciousness. When Nico opened her eyes again, Karolina’s modest radiance shimmered as she smiled.

“So,” Karolina began, her eyelashes fluttering in the way that always made Nico feel like she was the centre-point in the universe and the only one who mattered. “Don’t panic.”

Nico remained too submerged in her post-orgasm bliss to react in the expected way when exposed to the two worded - and normally frightening - instruction of ‘don’t panic’.

“But,” Karolina said. “I don’t have a key for them.”

“For what?” Nico asked absentmindedly, her thoughts on other things. She felt like her mind had been dosed with something lethal, numbing all coherent thoughts. It was a form of brain fog, she surmised, casting a cloud over orderly thought processes and actions.

And then it hit her hard. Nico blinked. The handcuffs.

“You don’t mean-”

Karolina offered a weak apology, lovingly hooking her arms around Nico’s neck. “Oops, I guess?”

“ _Oops_ , Karolina.” Nico retorted in disbelief, now sobered up. “ _Oops_ is _“I dropped the milk for the cereal.”_ or “ _oops, we’re outta milk._ ”

“That’s… a lot of milk metaphors.”

Nico would have waved a hand signalling unimportance if she could have. “You know what I mean.” she told Karolina. “Am I really stuck in these for the rest of the night slash ‘till the end of days?”

Karolina could no longer retain her poker face, her suppressed laughter emerging into a toothy grin. “No,” she said, shaking her head and touching Nico’s face. “I was just messing. Your face!” Karolina chuckled. “Sorry but… I’m not sorry. Well, I’m kind of sorry? I guess?”

“I think you will be.” Nico shared, her expression crossing with disbelief and playful annoyance. Karolina only beamed in return. “Once I get these off and on you.”

“That’s if…” Karolina leaned in, her breath ghosting gently against Nico’s top lip. “And only if, I decide to let you out of them.”

“Or I could summon the Staff of One.” Nico quipped. Karolina’s confidence wasn’t as strong now. “And just get it over with now.”

“But Nico, where would be the fun be...” Karolina drew in closer and Nico closed her eyes, expecting them to kiss. “...in that.”

But - much to Nico’s disappointment - they didn’t kiss and as quickly as Karolina had inched in closer, she drew back.

“Where did you hide the key, Karolina?” Nico asked after reopening her eyes. She gazed at Karolina, threatening a challenge her girlfriend was all too happy to take.

“I… ate it?”

“Gross and disgusting.” Nico scoffed. Her girlfriend remained increasingly smug and it just wasn’t fair. “No, really.” she prodded again. “Where is it?”

“I told you.” Karolina said, suppressing laughter. “I ate it.”

“Well,” Nico said pointedly. “I’ve got all night.”

“That’s a good thing then because I do too.”

Okay, Karolina officially owned the rank of flirtatious smoothness and Nico would have quite happily waved the white flag of surrender if she could have, you know, moved her hands.

“Your move.”

“Tonight has been all my moves.” Karolina whispered. She wasn’t wrong. “Who said I was finished?” Nico gulped because Karolina was gazing at her again like she was cornered prey. Karolina shifted and, remaining true to her words, slid from her lap. Nico turned in the chair, high on alert as Karolina announced that she wanted to make things much more comfortable before proceeding to shimmy out of her dress. That, Nico thought once again, was unfair.

“I have the key, Nico.” Karolina informed, tugging her up from the chair after she deposited her dress on the floor. “Maybe you’ll get me to share where it is with you if you try hard enough.”

“Or,” Nico replied. “We could skip right past that part and you could tell me where it is now and I could be showing you just how hard I can try.”

Karolina contemplated the suggestion for a moment as she tugged Nico across the floor and towards their bed. Confident of a positive response, Nico’s hopes abruptly faded as soon as Karolina pushed her back and she fell, bouncing clumsily onto the bed. The landing grounded Nico and she shifted, her cuffed hands pressing insistently into the mattress.

“Nice try.” Karolina said, smiling. There was a shuffle as Karolina tugged her pants down. Nico blinked as she watched them fly towards the side of the bed. Karolina made it look easy. “But why would you want to skip the best part?”

“You’re trying to kill me.” Nico stated with intense conviction and Karolina only laughed before beginning part two of her onslaught of seduction. Karolina’s low, soft chuckle was enough of an admission, an edge of devilment present in its sound, and she moved onto the bed and onto Nico.

Karolina’s lips parted and Nico snatched up the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She pushed up, closer, angling her head as their mouths tangled together. Her eyes darkened as Karolina’s touch wove between them, resting coolly against her chest and the room around them briefly disappeared.

And then something unexpected happened; a commotion of sound echoed from downstairs. Recognizable voices carried up and around the wooden frame of the staircase - the door to Karolina and Nico’s bedroom was, afterall, still open - but they continued on for as long as they could before the voices were too loud to ignore.

Karolina’s movements froze when a voice called “we’re back.”

It was Gert, her voice carrying up the levels with a familiar lilt. Gert knew how to call loudly. The group knew the fact all too well.

“Why are you yelling?”

And Molly.

“Do you really need to explain this to her?” Alex’s voice cut in.

“Yeah, Gert. I don’t think now is the right time.”

And Chase’s.

“And when _is_ the right time, huh?” Gert replied in turn, sounding as if she had quite literally turned on Chase. “I don’t think I quite understood the meaning of your condescending tone, Victor Chase Stein. Oh no, wait. I did.”

Nico gazed into Karolina’s eyes when their lips parted, kiss reluctantly breaking. Nico identified a parallel line of frustration and disappointment that ran, spreading from Karolina’s pupils and down to her sides. She closed her eyes, Karolina’s closeness unshifting.

“They’re back.” Nico murmured, whisper talking her frustration. Scavenging must have been unsuccessful. “ _Annoyingly_.”

Karolina sighed, kissing Nico’s lips briefly. “And you still haven’t got the key.”

“I… I do not.” Nico murmured, resenting the fact. Karolina, however, appeared to be forming a plan as she disappointingly rolled off of Nico’s lap.

“And we couldn’t just end things like this, could we?” Karolina bargained, ignoring the rising chatter of carrying voices trickling through the door frame.

_No_ , Nico agreed, _they could not_.

“And we have a door, right?” Karolina continued, the door in question creaking as she closed it behind. A useful addition Nico concurred.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Nico said, desire present in her eyes. “Get over here.”

Karolina grinned and Nico, as ever, rose to the challenge.


End file.
